The government has announced that NHS England will provide free abortions for Northern Irish women who come to the UK for terminations.

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Today, Chancellor Philip Hammond told the Commons that there will be a review in current policy after Labour proposed an amendment to the Queen's Speech that would force a change in the law if carried.

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Last year alone, more than 700 Northern Irish women paid between £400 and £2,000 to have the procedure performed privately.

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Today, this region of the UK still has the strongest criminal penalty for abortion of any country in Europe and terminations are only permitted if a woman's life is at risk, or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health. Rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities are still not seen as circumstances that permit the procedure.

In 2015, the High Court actually ruled that the Northern Irish law breached the European Convention on Human Rights by not allowing abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality or sexual crime, however it wasn't changed.

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Labour MP Stella Creasy, who proposed the amendment to the Queen's Speech, has been pressing for reform through the My Pledge, Her Choice campaign. It is one of the biggest campaigns regarding this issue and asks people to email their local MP asking them to commit key pledges that would ensure reproductive rights are granted to all UK women.

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Following today's announcement, Barbara Davidson from the London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign said: “We are delighted the government has finally agreed to end decades of discrimination and allow women from Northern Ireland to have abortions on the NHS in England.

“This is a significant and welcome milestone on the road to safe and legal abortion for all women in Northern Ireland and an acknowledgment that Westminster has finally heard our calls for reform. Whilst this will not prevent women in Northern Ireland having to travel for abortions, it will relieve some of the financial pressures they face.”

The review to current policy certainly marks a historic step forward in delivering equal reproduction rights for women across the UK, however many people argue more has to be done.